[Immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements in patients with autoimmune diseases]

Immunoglobulin-(Ig-) and T-cell-receptor-(TcR-)gene rearrangements were investigated in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of patients with various autoimmune disorders. In patients with SLE there was no predominant Ig- or TcR-gene rearrangement. This was also true in patients with a long disease duration and with excessive hypergammaglobulinemia. These results lead us to suggest that B cells are activated polyclonally in these patients. In those cases, where predominantly rearranged Ig- or TcR-genes were found, the autoimmune disorder was associated with a low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). This coherence of B-cell malignancy and autoimmunity was only found in patients with cryoglobulinemia (KG), cold agglutinin disease (KA), and hemolytic anemia (AIHA).